Did you ever wonder why so many old school motorcycles and cars have Spanish names? Even when the machine is American? Even when you are custom builder not living north or south of the border (of Mexico)? I have some answers but I am curious to see if some of you have convincing explanations. Anyway, the story of the builder Christian De Kant is quite interesting. First, he is only 20 years old, is born in Germany, lives in Switzerland, study law at the Geneva University and is not a beginner custom builder…

El Marinero Borracho (The drunken sailor) is not his first full motorcycle work. He started building bikes when he was 16 years old, and not the kind you expect from a teenager: a 47 Harley WL a 71 Rigid Ironhead and a couple of newer Harley models for his friends! And wait, he is already busting his knuckles on a 48 & 49 Panheads, a 71 Shovelhead, a 38 ULH, and a 47 Knuckle. And if it’s not enough, he has also a secret Bonneville Salts project on his mind…

For personal taste, all his bikes revolve around a mix of visual codes inspired by both old American, Japanese and Hispanic cultures. “El Marinero Borracho” or “Druken Sailor” being originally a Sea Chanty to encourage sailors’ physical efforts as they toiled at repetitive tasks, I guess Christian is able to sing it to himself to alleviate and lighten the burden of heavy work that his bikes require.

This project is based on a Paughco wishbone rigid frame, a 1977 Harley Shovelhead engine (originally 1200 cc or 73″) boosted to 1340 cc using Redshift Cams with sparks produced by a Morris Magneto, a Rev Tech 4-speed tranny with kicker, a 3″ BDL open belt primary system with final chain drive, an original 36 to 48 era Harley Springer front end, a pair of 16″ rear and 18″ front spoke wheels. Gas tank is minimalist Alien model from BaasMetalKraft, oil tank is an H-Bomb, shotguns type exhaust./bars/controls are shop one-off parts, and for a period correct feel Christian used an old Bates seat, a Unity yellow glass headlight and Firestone tires found at Cocker. Hermoso! DK Motorrad